Mice Infestation in Parliament Lodges

A woman lawmaker Shahida Rehmani was bitten by a rat inside her room as there have been no significant measures taken against the mice infestation in the parliament lodges for the past many years.

This is not the only instance when a mouse bit a lawmaker. Earlier, MNA Musarrat Rafique was also bitten by a mouse in the lodges.

The issue of mice infestation in the lodges, parliament house, and the official residence of senators and national assembly members has taken a serious turn over the years.

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Shahida Rehmani informed about the incident that she had a mouse bite when she was asleep in her room.

While addressing the session, she said, “A mouse has bitten me and I have been administered tetanus and anti-rabies injections”.

Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri directed the concerned officials of the Capital Development Authority to take immediate action to improve the sanitation situation.

A campaign to catch rats in Parliament House was launched five years ago in 2016 and according to a report released in December of the same year, the CDA had awarded the contract to catch rats in Parliament to a private company.

As many as 430 rats were seized, including one from the Prime Minister’s Chamber at that time.

According to the report, 236 rats were caught in June 2016, 42 in July, 34 in August, 34 in September, 32 in October, 28 in November, and 24 in December.

The anti-mice campaign has apparently reduced the Mammalia in numbers but failed for a permanent cure of the issue.

In 2018, Dr. Yousuf Zafar, Chairman, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Food Security, revealed that there were several thousand rats in Parliament Lodges.

Not only this, 2 years back, the Standing Committee had to be shifted to another meeting room as the sound system was malfunctioned by the mice.